


Once Bitten

by mannana



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:35:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1569509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mannana/pseuds/mannana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth saved Daryl, but at what cost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Daryl wet a rag and gently wiped away the dirt that was caked on Beth’s face. She winced a little, and he discovered the deep purple bruise that was hidden beneath the mud. Her lip was swollen and split. And he could see cuts all over her forehead and cheeks. 

“It’s looks worse than it is Daryl,” She lied in a raspy tired voice. The look on his face told her how terrible she looked. She felt worse than she was going to admit to him. Her ribs ached and her entire right leg was killing her, her back felt as if it were split in two. Her knuckles were raw, and she’d torn at least three of her nails down to the quick. She was a mess from head to toe.

But she had saved him. And that was all that mattered. She smiled, and he glared at her. 

He looked over her face, inspected her hands and feet and pushed on her abdomen, checking for broken ribs and internal bruising. She watched his face contort into a grimace every time she flinched and saw flames behind his eyes. But he didn’t say a word.

He bandaged a few of the larger cuts on her face, and thoroughly cleaned the wound on her lip before he started on the gash on her shin.

“This is gonna hurt.” He grumbled and grabbed a bottle of alcohol.

And it did. The pain shot up her leg and she felt her entire body tense up. She gasped for air, and cursed. Daryl took his time, making sure every rock; every piece of dirt was out before stitching her up.  
Once he was done with that he instructed her to take off her shirt. Her eyes widened and she felt an immediate blush on her cheeks. 

“Turn around.” He ordered, completely ignoring her hesitation. She scooted around on her behind to face the window of the RV they had stolen. 

In an instant he grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. She winced, and he growled.

“Jesus, Beth…” He trailed off and chucked her shirt across the floor angrily. “Did you even try to be careful?” 

“No, Daryl, I didn’t. I was busy trying not to get killed.” She spat back. He sighed and unhooked her bra.

“What are you doing?” She clenched the bra to herself knowing full well he could see her reflection in the window. 

She nearly jumped out of the seat when he touched the middle of her back with the wet rag. 

“Ow!” It hurt horribly. Way more than the cut on her shin. 

She glanced up to the window and caught his reflection. He couldn’t hide the horror in his eyes. 

“Is it that bad?” She asked softly. 

He looked up and met her eyes in the window.

“Yeah.” He whispered in a voice so low she didn’t even hear it. 

 

His heart pounded in his chest. It looked like a bite. But it couldn’t be a bite. She’d be dead by now. She’d have turned, or been in more pain. It couldn’t be a bite. 

He was frozen in place staring at her naked back, not knowing what to do next. She was beginning to panic as well, and he knew he had to do something. There were tears forming in her eyes, but he couldn’t move. 

Hundreds of scenarios played out in his mind in a matter of seconds, all ending with him burying Beth. His chest felt tight. He couldn’t see anything but the grotesque wound in the center of her back. His hands began to tremble.

He couldn’t fix this. 

“Daryl!” She said loudly, trying to pull him back to reality. His head snapped up and he spun her around, not caring a bit about her nakedness. 

He lunged at her, grabbed her face in both hands, and he kissed her. He kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe. He kissed her until his lungs felt as if they would burst. He broke to gasp for air, only to go right back for more. He felt her tense beneath him, and he could taste blood from reopening her split lip, but he didn’t care. He kissed her with everything he could give. His heart shattered into a million pieces when he felt her cave and return his fevered kisses. She was panicking in the same way he was now, kissing because they didn’t know what else to do. Kissing because they had to. 

When he finally pulled away, she panted with wild eyes. She wanted more, but she was scared to death. They stared at each other for an eternity. Both breathing through their mouths, debating on whether or not to kiss each other again.

 

A fire was burning wildly through her body. Whatever was wrong with her back had stirred something primal in him. Something strong and something that she never knew he was capable of. He’d poured his soul into her body, and she could feel him radiating through her. 

So badly she wanted to ask what was wrong, what had sparked this, but she couldn’t move, and she couldn’t speak. 

After what felt like days, he told her to turn back around. He paused for only a moment, only to meet her eyes in the reflection of the window before he dowsed her back with alcohol. She screamed out in pain. 

Without warning he got up and walked out of the RV. 

 

Within minutes Rick was rushing inside. Beth’s head was spinning now. The pain was starting to radiate into her neck, and the toll of the fight was making her drowsy. The pain was making her light headed, and her vision was becoming blurry. She knew she was going to pass out. 

The men argued in rushed speeches back and forth, and she couldn’t understand a thing they’d said.

“I don’t think it is, Daryl,” Rick said as he touched the sensitive skin around the wound. And Daryl bit back with a sentence filled with curse words. She started to nod off. 

“Don’t fall asleep, Beth. Please stay awake for us,” Rick begged. She could feel his hand shaking her lightly. 

She tried. And failed.


	2. Chapter Two

When she woke it was dark. She wasn't sure if it was early morning, or late night. But she did know Daryl was snoring next to her with an arm draped over her body. She had her shirt back on, but her bra was missing. She recalled her shirt being thrown across the RV earlier. She also recalled a set of lips pressed tightly to hers. She licked her lips carefully, feeling the scab that had formed. It still hurt. Her jaw was tight so she opened her mouth as far as she could to stretch it out. She winced when the skin of her lip cracked and nearly split open again. 

Daryl’s fingers curled against her stomach, and she rolled carefully to face him. He stirred a bit, but didn’t wake up. She felt incredibly weak, and even lifting her arm to touch his face felt like a task. Her thumb traced his top lip to the corner of his mouth, and then along his bottom lip and down his chin. She raked her nails through his beard and let her fingers linger up his jaw. She couldn’t contain the soft groan that escaped her throat. He twitched then, and one eye popped open. 

He sat up quickly and turned on the small lantern that hung above their heads. Without a word he began studying her face, checking for God knows what. He pulled at her eye lids, opening them as far as they’d go. He touched every inch on her face in a hurry like he was expecting something to happen. When he was satisfied he sat back and pulled away from her body.

“You’re not dead.” He said in a low voice.

“Am I supposed to be?” She said with a bit of panic in her voice.

“You were bit.” He whispered. 

She scrunched her face in confusion. 

“No.” She shook her head. But the pain in his eyes made her second guess herself, even though she knew she hadn’t been near any Walkers in days.

He got up and pulled her to her feet. She limped alongside him to the ridiculously small bathroom where he spun her around and pulled her shirt from her body once again.

“Look.” He pointed to the full length mirror that hung on the door. 

The wound seeped and oozed. It had been stitched up, but she could see where it looked like teeth had ripped her flesh clean away. Her skin was pulled tight to cover the hole, and the stitches didn’t look like they’d hold. She was going to have an ugly scar for sure. But the sight of it wasn’t the worst part; the worst part was the look on Daryl’s face. It caused an ache in her heart and she wasn’t sure what to do.

“I fell a lot, Daryl. I know it got hit in the back with something. I could have landed on a broken bottle, or…,” She trailed off and sighed, “It’s not a bite,” She finished. His eyes grew wide and then faded in a second flat. 

“Is that why you kissed me? Because you thought I was going to die?” She asked softly.

He hung his head and fidgeted with the shirt in his hands. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and felt a queasy feeling rising in his stomach.

He shrugged, still not looking up at her. 

She giggled.

It was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. How could she be laughing? Her entire body was cut and torn, she’d nearly died saving his ass, and now she was giggling? He looked at her with angry eyes again, and she stopped. 

“You need to sleep, Beth. “ He growled and pushed her back towards the sofa-pretending-to-be-a-bed.


	3. Chapter Three

When she awoke the second time, Daryl was no were to be found. And Beth found herself wishing she was pulled close against his body again. She sighed and tried to get up. Her body resisted and she fell back onto the couch. She felt incredibly weak. She wondered how long she’d been sleeping. She managed to get herself sitting upright, which was a start at least. Although, she felt the stitches in her back pull, and there was a warm sensation radiating from it now. It was probably bleeding. 

Rick knocked and came in then, holding a plate of food in one hand while the other rested on his gun.   
She knew right then she had been quarantined. On Walker Watch. She rolled her eyes. 

“We were wondering if you’d ever wake up,” He said as he handed her a plate of cooked veggies and a chunk of rabbit meat. She didn’t miss the double meaning to his words. 

She could smell the campfire on him, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept much. Dark circles were under his eyes. He had probably been in charge of keeping a look out for her. 

The food tasted amazing. She was ravenous. Rick chuckled as she inhaled the food and she pretended not to notice that he was watching her like a hawk while keeping a distinct smirk on his face.

“Daryl will be happy to see you’re awake and eating. Would you like more?”

She nodded. 

“And some water if there is any.” She said with a hoarse voice. She tried to clear her throat, but it hurt.

“I knew it wasn’t a bite.” He winked as he stepped out of the RV. 

 

Nearly fifteen minutes passed before the door flew open again. Daryl stormed in in a panic, meeting and locking his eyes on hers. He was sweating and it dripped from his face. He grabbed a rag from his back pocket and wiped his face and neck. His eyes were wild with what she could only guess was fear. He paced back and forth in front of her, his chest heaving from being out of breath. He swung his arms, and ran his hands through his hair. 

“Are you okay?” She tilted her head to the side and begged him to calm down with her eyes. She patted the cushion next to her to begging him to sit. To talk. 

“I was huntin’,” He said as he plopped onto the couch. And that only confused her more. He laid his head back and closed his eyes while he calmed down and caught his breath.

“What, was a bear chasing you?” She giggled and put her hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head up then and stared at her hand. And she watched his eyes soften. He even smirked a little.

“Rick came and found me. Said you were awake,” He replied, staring deep into her eyes.

She felt her chest become heavy then. A ball in the pit of her stomach began to churn and she didn’t know if was going to cry, laugh, or vomit. The realization of what his eyes were saying to her made her heart race. 

 

He had run as fast as his legs would carry him. His thighs still burned and ached from doing so. But he had to get to her, had to see for himself that she was awake. He wondered if she had any idea how long she’d been sleeping. 

When he pulled the door open and seen her bright blue eyes he felt as if he would collapse right there.

“You’ve been asleep for three days.” He whispered, still staring into her eyes. 

“I can tell. I’m stiff as a board.” She answered lightly. She smiled at him in a way that made his heart rate quicken. He didn’t stop her when she lifted her fingers to his face. 

She gently pushed away the damp hair that was clinging to his forehead, and pushed away what was stuck to his cheek. She ran her thumb down his jawline to his chin and pulled his head towards hers. His breath hitched and stuck in his throat when he felt her lips brush his. She kissed him softly, slowly. A complete opposite to their first kiss. She felt him melt against her mouth, and she smiled while continuing to kiss him. She coaxed his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss. His hands finally unfroze from his sides and he gripped at her waist. The fear and anger he had been holding for the past three days had evaporated in no more than a few seconds.

She planted small kisses on his lips over and over, not wanting to stop. She let her lips linger close to his for the longest time before finally pulling away. He immediately missed the feeling.

“Thank you,” She said, and he had no idea how to respond. Instead he got up and held out a hand to help her stand. 

“You need water. And fresh air.” 

 

Everyone smiled at her, asked her how she felt, but they all had fear in their eyes like they didn’t trust she was really alive. Like they had all expected her to die. She ignored it for the most part; she had Daryl to concentrate on anyway. He wouldn’t leave her side. 

They found themselves sitting in the middle of a highway, on plastic lawn chairs someone had retrieved, soaking up the sun. He was leaned over, resting his arms on his legs, while she stared at him. She didn’t even care if he noticed. She paid attention to the marks on his skin. The parts that were visible. There were stitches above his right eye, he had a few scratch marks on his shoulder and a large purple and black bruise underneath those scratches. She instantly imagined how much worse he could have looked if she hadn’t found him when she did. 

“It’s not nice to stare,” He teased as he looked up at her, squinting in the brightness and handed her a bottle of water. 

She took a long drink, and then another. She burped loudly and started to laugh. 

“Sorry.” 

He let out a small laugh and stood up. 

He grabbed her hand, helping her up from the chair. She wobbled a bit on her weak legs, but followed him back towards the camp.

 

By the time the sun light began to fade she felt exhausted. She was nodding off next to the fire, but Daryl kept nudging her to stay awake. 

“Eat something, and then you can go to sleep.”

She picked at her food, taking the smallest bites she could. Her stomach was queasy and the food was making it worse. Her bones hurt, her leg hurt, she swore even her hair hurt. She just wanted to grab Daryl by the hand, and lead him to the RV. She wanted to wake up with his arm draped over her again. She wanted to hear him breathing next to her ear. 

She stood up and left the group behind. She prayed Daryl would follow. But he didn’t. He was busy stuffing his face.

 

She had inadvertently claimed the RV as her own, so when she got inside she stripped down to her panties. The air was cool, and it felt good on her back. The wound hurt a lot and the air on it seemed to numb it a bit. She nearly face planted onto the couch. Her head hit the cushion and she knew it’d only be seconds before she was asleep.   
But then the door opened and a rush of cold air swept across her body, waking her up completely. She half expected to see Maggie barging in, with Glen behind her, and another bottle of water to make her choke down. She sat up and was ready to start in on her, but a gruff voice stopped her.

“Shit, I should have knocked…” He said and turned around completely as he pulled the door shut and locked it. 

She laughed lightly. 

“You’ve seen them already, Daryl.” She reminded him. 

“Yeah, but that was different,” His voice was low, and it sent a shiver up Beth’s spine. “Cover up please.” He finished. 

“No, turn around and look at me.” She demanded. 

His heart hammered inside his chest. He wanted to turn around, wanted to look at her body, take his time and really look at it. Even as fucked up as it was right now. But he didn’t dare. All he’d see is the bruises and marks that covered her and it would be too much for him. 

He heard her stand up and begin to walk towards him. 

“Beth, stop.” He growled. He rested his head against his arm that was leaning on the door of the RV. He felt out of breath. His heart was beating so fast and so hard he thought he might keel over right there.

“If you didn’t want to see me, then why’d you come in here Daryl?” He knew without looking she had her hand on her hip and was glaring at him. 

“Your back needs to be cleaned,” He bit at his thumb nail, but still didn’t move an inch from the door. 

“Well, it’s right here,” She said as she turned and walked back to her spot and sat down. Daryl dared to peek then. 

Her arms were crossed across her chest and she faced the window. It was the same spot he’d discovered the wound. The look on her face in the reflection was much different this time though, and he had a hard time keeping a straight face. She looked as though she were pouting. 

He cleaned around the stitches, and dampened the scabs. It relieved the itching but made it easier for it to start bleeding again. 

She felt his fingers trace along the wound. 

“I did a shitty job sewing that up. You’re going to have an ugly scar.” He mumbled. He was getting pissed and she could see it in his eyes. 

“Why are you so angry?” She spoke softly, catching his eye in the window. 

“I should have done a better job. People are going to stare at that fucking thing every time you wear a tank top.” He threw his rag across the RV and began putting the first aid kit back together. He threw the small pack of bandages with the rag and stood up to leave. 

“You’re just going to leave?” She said with a lot more despair in her voice than she had intended. She threw her shirt and shoes back on and followed him. 

The fire was still burning and the group was huddled around it talking. They barely noticed when Beth and Daryl stepped into the woods. 

“Daryl, what are you doing? Come back inside with me, please?” She begged and grabbed his arm to turn him towards her. He spun around fast, and the look of fury made her draw her hand away and step backwards. 

“Why? So I can stare at your fucked up body some more? So I can see the mess I made of you?” He shouted. Surely the others would have heard. But he continued anyway. 

“Want me to go in there, strip you down so I can be reminded that I almost got you killed?! I can’t do that Beth!” He shook as he screamed. His eyes were wild with fear and anger and it broke her heart a little.

But she wasn’t ready to back off and let him leave. She stared into his eyes with just as much anger as he did. 

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything that happens!” She hollered and tried to grab his shoulders. 

He pulled away from her and stared into the dark woods.

“Don’t do that! Don’t try to make this better,” His shoulders fell with a sigh, “You know damn well this is my fault, and now you’re stuck with the scars to prove it.” 

She blinked and she then she stared into his eyes. He was starting to calm down, but the anger was still at the surface burning behind his eyes. 

“They’re just scars, Daryl.” She replied. Her heart hurt, not because of what he’d said but because of the anger he felt towards himself. She wanted to kiss him again, kiss him to take away the anger, kiss him to make the anger into something else. She knew it was stupid, but she wanted it regardless. 

“Scars remind you of things. Bad things that never go away,” He said in a low growl as he tried to push the anger further away.

He didn’t look away as he began to unbutton his shirt. His fingers trembled as he let the shirt fall to the ground. He paused for a moment before turning.

“Scars don’t let memories fade, Beth.” He said revealing his back to her. 

A gasp stuck in her throat. Scar after scar lined his skin, crossing over each other and covering nearly the entirety of his back.

“You get to remember how I almost killed you for the rest of your fuckin’ life.” He said and reached for his shirt. 

Her shaking hand stopped him. She could see the tears wanting to escape his eyes, and she felt the sting of them in her own. She didn’t know what to say. So she cupped his face and made him look at her before she turned him around again.

Daryl swallowed a sob and jumped a little when he felt her lips touch his back. They felt soothing and hot against his skin. He trembled every time her fingers grazed the scars and he wondered if she was going to run away. 

“Come back with me,” She whispered against his skin before planting a final kiss at the base of his neck.

Defeated, he nodded his head and grabbed his shirt. 

She helped him with the buttons. They both were fumbling, both shaking from the emotions still raking through their bodies. They walked in silence, hand in hand, until the door of the RV was locked behind them. 

 

The weight of the day made it easy to fall asleep, but neither of them wanted to close their eyes. They laid together for a long time in silence, just listening to each other breathe. 

It was the same spot she had made her makeshift bed and he pulled her naked body as close as humanly possible. She pulled his hand up to her mouth and kissed it. 

“We good, Daryl?” She asked in whisper against his skin.

“Yeah. We got the scars to prove it.” He said before he kissed the top of her ear and fell asleep.


End file.
